


A Chinchilla Named Hunk

by GayKiba



Series: Heith Week 2017 [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Chinchillas, M/M, this was from before they told us how old Allura is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-09
Updated: 2017-03-10
Packaged: 2018-10-01 14:37:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10192130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GayKiba/pseuds/GayKiba
Summary: In which Lance’s best friend Hunk discovers a rotund little rodent owned by Lance’s best ex-rival has the same name as him, and insists on cooking a celebratory dinner in honour of their meeting.Keith hatches a brilliant plan with the help of chinchilla-Hunk’s cage-mate, Keith Junior.





	1. The Chinchilla Formally Known as Herc

**Author's Note:**

> IT'S HEITH WEEK!! HERE'S SOMETHING MUCH LESS EMBARRASSING FOR ME TO POST TO YOUSE.
> 
> This got too long so it's in two chapters.

— **Day 1: Pets**

 

It had mostly been a joke. It was just that with Shiro back on Earth and Keith kicked out of Garrison Galaxy, Shiro had insisted they move in together. Keith still didn’t know how he felt about that; they were only half-brothers, just recently introduced to each other, and already Shiro was taking responsibility for his fuck ups and inability to get himself in line. Their father was too far out, and Kieth had managed to get himself into the local university.

He’d never fly, but at least he could do _something_.

“Come on; pick one,” Shiro encouraged him, smiling. He looked like he meant it.

“… We don’t have to,” Keith finally muttered, averting his eyes back to the display of small reptiles. There were snakes and some lizards.

“If you really don’t want to, then we won’t. I just think it would be, you know,” Shiro shrugged, looking over the glass tanks. “Nice. Break the place in.”

“… You like pets?” Keith felt obligated to ask.

Shiro hummed, leaning in to look at a frill-necked lizard. “No idea. Never kept one; landlord didn’t allow it. Figured it would be nice to try it now I can, though.” He tapped at the glass, waited a moment longer, then moved on.

Keith followed, leaving the reptile corner and heading towards the loudly chirping birds. Keith had his own opinions on pet stores (he didn’t like them), but Shiro had driven them all the way out here already.

“I’ve never had one either,” He thought to volunteer, just so Shiro could see what a bad idea it was, to get a pet.

“Oh, really? Then I guess it’ll be a learning experience for us both,” The other continued easily.

Keith regretted mentioning how much he’d wanted a dog when he was younger, in response to Shiro asking how he found out about having a half-brother. It really had shut his eight-year-old mouth, to hear he had an older brother, and instead turned him on to never-ending begging to meet him.

Shiro was everything eight-year-old Keith Kogane had wanted. Too bad Keith wasn’t eight any more.

Uncomfortable, Keith scanned the store as Shiro peered into the budgerigar cage. It smelled strongly of food pellets and animals, and had all kinds of pet supplies; it was big and well-lit, but Keith still didn’t like it.

“We can’t get a dog, unfortunately,” Shiro muttered, regretful again that Keith’s old childhood wishes couldn’t be fulfilled and making Keith want to squirm, “So what was your backup pet?”

“Uh…” He scanned around the store again, this time with intent. “Rodent.”

“Rodent?” He sounded surprised. When Keith looked back at him, he was upright and staring at him.

“Yeah? Why?” He asked, a little defensively.

Shiro raised a hand. “Nothing. I just… seemed more a cat type, really.”

Keith shrugged a shoulder, a bit aggressively. “Well, they don’t have any here, so I didn’t want to say, I guess.”

Shiro smiled easily, wide and kind. “I guess. Hey, you know any places they might?”

Breath catching, Keith snapped his head up. “There’s a rescue sanctuary,” He asserted boldly.

“Great! Where is it?”

 

* * *

 

Keith found it so much easier to keep talking now he’d started. Shino seemed to pick up on his eagerness for the place, and Keith found himself telling him all about his volunteer work there, how much he’d learnt from the two full-time workers there.

“There’s a chinchilla,” Keith insisted again, as Shiro pulled into the small parking lot in front of the small building. “His name is Herc, but I just call him-” Keith cut himself off as Shiro turned off the car, and the older man glanced over at him, expression open.

That was the problem. Shiro was just such an inviting person; Keith had almost spilled his most mortifying and intimate secret.

“Never mind,” He muttered, and hurriedly unbuckled his seatbelt and got out of the car. Shiro followed after him, and didn’t seem upset that Keith sped ahead and entered before him.

“Keith!” Allura, one of the full-time workers there, looked surprised to see him. Keith nodded at her from where she was behind the counter.

“Hey Allura. This is Shiro,” He added, when Shiro entered, the little bell above the door rattling as it shut.

“Oh…” Shiro seemed dazed at the sight of her (Keith didn’t blame him; Allura _was_ a sight) before snapping out of it with a friendly tilt to his mouth. “Hello! Hi, I’m Shiro,” He said, and started walking up to the counter. Keith stared at them long enough to notice that Allura, a stickler for the Rules, was actually coming out from behind the front desk to greet him, and left them to it.

Keith beelined for the chinchilla formally known as Herc.

He was kept in a side-room, and neither Allura nor Coran minded when Keith came in even on his off-days to see the guy. He’d been domesticated, so he liked the attention, Keith thought. Honestly; the only reason he hadn’t taken in the little guy months ago was because he couldn’t afford the time or money he’d need to take care of him. Keith sank to his knees in front of the large wire cage, smiling at the fuzzy ears that popped up, the tiny face peeking out of his favourite hidey hole.

“Hey Hunk,” He called out softly. “How’re you, buddy?” he tapped on the food bowl with a fingernail, laughing quietly when he hopped all the way out.

“Hunk the chinchilla?” _That_ sent the little guy diving back for his hole again, and Keith looked up quickly at Shiro. He was grinning, and Keith was surprised at how happy he looked. His other smiles had nothing on the toothy, charming grin he was sporting now.

“Allura? I think we’ll take him.”

 

* * *

 

 

It turns out; Hunk had had a cage-mate. His name was Rascal, and they’d actually been together since they were babies. Keith had had no idea, because originally Rascal had been re-homed, but then they’d moved and sadly been forced to give him up.

Shiro was more than willing to take them both.

“I’ll be honest; this is the first time I’ve ever had a pet, and I’m not too confident, if they’re better for someone with more experience,” Shiro was confiding in Allura, both of them leaning of their forearms over the counter, towards the other.

“I’m sure with all Keith’s learned for their sakes you’ll do just fine,” Allura hastened to reassure him. Keith, cradling the two chinchillas in a carrier with their favourite bedding, ignored them. They’d already loaded their cage into the car and bought them food and even treats, so now all Shiro had to prolong his time with Allura was the paperwork, which she wasn’t hurrying him with in any way at all.

Keith didn’t mind. Watching Hunk and Rascal was plenty entertaining enough for him.

“Hey, Keith, since you named Hunk, mind if I re-name Rascal?” Shiro called.

Without looking away from where Hunk was washing his face and Rascal was pressed up next to him, Keith shrugged. “Just make it cute.”

Shiro chuckled, and he and Allura leaned in over the paper. Keith glanced up briefly when Allura let out a loud shout of laughter, but then again, Keith didn’t know what Allura did when she was into someone, and he ignored them again.

That later proved to be a mistake.

“You named it _Keith Junior_?!” He cried out, outraged.

Shiro raised his hands in a shrug, his smile still infuriatingly bright. “Well, Hunk just made you so happy, just like Keith Junior, so… You only said it had to be cute.”

Keith couldn’t _believe_ this.


	2. Hunkchilla

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yes. What’re the odds, indeed, that the boy Keith hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since the moment he laid eyes on him would wind up being Lance’s best friend?
> 
> Could his life get any worse?
> 
> It could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Haha almost forgot to add the last chapter!! Whoops. I'm gonna be a day behind probably but i will try!!

It seemed Keith’s life was going to go from bad (kicked out of the Garrison), okay (living with his half-brother, getting into the university), great (getting the Chinchilla Formally Known as Herc!!), back to okay again (… Keith Junior), then _back to bad again_.

“Wow, _Keith_? Didn’t you drop out?” Keith sized up the boy in front of him- taller, but also skinnier -and considered just slamming the door shut again.

Lance sniggered. He slammed the door shut again.

“Keith!” Shiro called from the kitchen the next room over. “Was that Lance? Did you let him in?”

“No,” he called back. Lance knocked on the door again, his muffled voice sounding indignant. “And I’m locking it.”

“Don’t,” Shiro ordered flatly. “Come on, I promised Matt I would. He needs me to do this for Katie.”

Keith rolled his eyes. He hated when Shiro tried to pull age on him. He much preferred when he was grumbling about work. Or how nice it would be, to be in one of the time periods Keith was studying, so he could be dying of influenza and not working.

“ _Keith._ ” Lance was just repeatedly slapping the door by now. Keith scoffed, then yanked the door open.

“Shiro died five years ago,” He stated flatly.

“He wishes!” Lance returned cheerfully, and strut inside. Keith shut the door behind him and hurried past him, standing loosely in front of the chinchilla cage, to protect them, but he shouldn’t have bothered; Lance was pawing at Shiro’s side in an instant. “Shiro! You lived!”

Shiro just sighed and drained the rest of his coffee mug. “Bah. Anyway, what did you want to start with?”

As he often did when piloting came up, Keith turned his back and tuned out Lance’s excited babble, trudging over to the chinchillas and crouching down in front of them. Hunk scampered up to the bars and waited, tail twitching.

“Hey Hunk,” He greeted warmly. After a few more rolls in the dust bath, Keith Junior scurried up next to him. “Hey Junior,” Keith said, which was the only was he would ever refer to him. Junior had grown on him a lot; he was always cuddling up next to Hunk, and following him around. Sometimes Keith wished _he’d_ been so honest.

“Wait, your chinchilla’s name is _Hunk?_ ” Keith jumped, then spun around. Lance’s gaping quickly transformed into a wide, gleeful grin. “ _Dude!_ My best friend’s name is Hunk!”

Keith felt his heart sink, hot embarrassment welling up in his gut. Shiro, however, seemed interested, and Lance insisted that he take a photo of “Hunkchilla” to text to his friend.

“Wow, what’re the odds?!” He laughed, obviously enjoying himself.

Yes. What’re the odds, indeed, that the boy Keith hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since the moment he laid eyes on him would wind up being Lance’s best friend?

Could his life _get_ any worse?

It could.

“Hunk wants to come meet him!” Lance declared one day. Keith ignored him, as he’d learned to do over the past week of Lance just showing up at their apartment whenever he felt like now, but Shiro was interested.

“Your friend? To meet the chinchilla?” He probed.

Lance nodded vigorously. “Yeah! He’s super excited! He’s been looking at like, these holovids of people making tiny little meals and stuff for their pet hamsters and stuff- I think he’d really want to try that. I think he’d pay you to let him.”

Shiro laughed, but Keith cut to the chase. “What does he need?”

Lance blinked. Keith didn’t know if it was his question or the fact he was addressing Lance at all. “What?”

“What would he need,” Keith began slowly, formulating some kind of an on-the-spot plan right at that very second, “To bake chinchilla Hunk and Junior a little chocolate cake?”

Slowly, Lance beamed. Shiro seemed happy for him, smiling fondly.

Keith kept his ulterior motives to himself and just barked at Lance to answer already.

 

* * *

 

If Keith’s life wasn’t just going to give him a goddamn break, for once in his life, then Keith would just have to _work hard_ at it, or whatever. Starting with a chinchilla house-warming party.

Keith bought the right flour and some rodent-safe chocolate that he made sure was also fine for chinchillas, the only ingredients Hunk would need that they didn’t already have at their apartment. He even got Allura to knock fifty cents off his purchase by borrowing her phone to call Shiro and check that the milk was alright. It was. He left before she could show him what he was saving his number under.

Next, Keith played nice with Lance, the whole _two times_ he dropped by, without Hunk, before their arranged meet-up on the weekend. That was just ridiculous. Who needed to see Shiro that often, anyway? Still, Keith put up with it. He said ‘stop coming over’ and ‘goodbye’ and everything.

Finally, _finally_ , the day arrived. Keith had hardly slept a wink the night before, he was so pent up and nervous.

At first, he thought Lance had shown up ahead of time, and, his infinite patience spent, snapped out; “Oh, fucking _again?_ ” Before he heard a deep, rich exclamation of surprise.

“Whoa! Lance, what did you do?” Keith felt embarrassment steal over him, and tried to mumble something, _anything_ out as Shiro showed up behind him and invited them all in.

He just couldn’t get the words out. Seeing Hunk Garrett’s face after so many months… he was absolutely speechless. Keith stared longingly up at him as Shiro led them both inside, drinking in his beautiful looks, and in his house, no less, after so long.

“Thank you,” He whispered, almost reverently.

Hunk glanced back at him and smiled. “No, thank _you!_ I’ve been looking forward to this all week!”

Keith, laughing nervously, was unable to stop the big stupid answering grin while struggling to lock his wobbly knees and keep from swooning.

He trailed after Hunk, following him to the kitchen, thinking furiously on what to do. Would Hunk want to meet the chinchillas immediately? Maybe get things set up first? Shiro offered to make them both coffee while Keith flattened himself against the side of the counter, gripping it tightly as he struggled to come up with the next phase in his plan.

Keith watched as Shiro made them both coffee and led them to the kitchen table. “Hey Keith, how about you go get the chinchillas?” Hunk looked absolutely thrilled, and shot Keith an eager look.

Keith swallowed loudly, tried to say something, managed out a choked whimper, then shot out of the room, straight for the chinchillas. Lance was laughing. Keith felt humiliated, and he’d done it all himself, too. He’d been so close!

He bent down and tried to swallow his embarrassment, opening the cage door and reaching inside. Hunk and Junior, who were both very fond of Keith’s cuddles, when they felt like it, were in the mood to be held, and he scooped Hunk up.

“Hey Hunk,” He cooed, cradling him under his chin. “I love you,” He whispered, pressing his cheek lightly against his back. Hunk, a laid-back guy, was content with how Keith was scratching his sides with his thumbs and allowed it.

“So that one’s Hunk Junior, huh?” Keith whipped his head around, staring at Hunk Garrett, the human, the crush, and crouched right behind him. He looked unsure. “Sorry. I just-”

Keith forced himself to smile, just a little bit, to put Hunk at ease. “No, it’s fine. This is Hunk, too,” he said, and held him out. Hunk looked absolutely thrilled, and cupped his wide palms eagerly underneath Keith’s hands. Keith felt his hands fingers Hunk’s like electricity shot through him.

“Oh man, this is so cool,” Hunk gushed. Keith turned back to the cage, the smile feeling more genuine as he fished Junior out. “Aw, who’s that little guy?”

“This is Junior,” Keith said, easily. He stood, and Hunk followed after him. Keith could see Lance and Shiro going through the cupboards now, getting the equipment and ingredients Hunk would need.

“Junior? Is it because he’s smaller?” Hunk asked, scratching the top of chinchilla Hunk’s head with a finger.

“No,” Keith said, and slid his gaze purposely back to Hunk, feeling a strong rush of overwhelming affection at the sight of his crush being so gentle with his pet. “It’s because he’s Keith Junior.”

Hunk froze up for a second, confusion painting his brow. A victory; that meant he was thinking about it. Thrilled, Keith strode past him into the kitchen, Junior cupped in his hands like the guest of honour he was.

 

* * *

 

After that, Keith made very sure that he was in the kitchen at all times with Hunk; even though that meant letting Lance touch Hunk and Junior, something he had, until this day, managed to avoid. Shiro was watching him, though, and Lance was happy to put them back in their home once Shiro explained they were starting to get tired of company.

Hunk had made some small talk, but seemed mostly focused on some of the most miniature cooking Keith had ever seen. It was really cute, watching Hunk carefully mix up flour and water in a bottle cap using a matchstick.

“You’re really good at that,” He complimented him, coming up to watch from over his arm.

Hunk accidentally flicked the bottle cap across the bench. He snatched it back, laughing a little, and gave him a shy once-over, before quickly bustling back to his mixing. Keith felt almost giddy by it. Hunk had obviously been unable to stop puzzling over what Keith had told him.

“I’m, uh, I’m good at cooking, I guess! It’s my hobby,” Hunk went on, as Keith let him breathe and started to neaten up the mess in the kitchen (mostly Lance’s fault).

“Making food for chinchillas?” Keith prodded him.

“Making _food_ , dork,” Hunk said, with a laugh. Keith hummed. Hunk turned, and Keith saw the cake bases were molded and ready for three minutes or so in the microwave. He stepped out of Hunk’s way. “Think Hunkchilla’ll like chocolate cake?” He asked jokingly.

“Hunk loves snacks. He soaks up being spoilt,” Keith assured him. Hunk chuckled, and when he looked over at Keith his eyes were fond. It was one of the best things to happen to Keith all day. He cocked his face up. “I’m sure Keith Junior likes chocolate chinchilla cake, too,” he went on.

Hunk smiled, giving a brisk nod. “Glad to hear it!”

Oh, God; Hunk’s smile could make him to reckless things. “I don’t mind chocolate cake, either,” He couldn’t resist adding.

Hunk raised an eyebrow. “Well, I guess we’ll just have to see what we have left over, huh?” He was joking, like Keith was a friend. It was so nice. Paired with his kind eyes and his brilliant smile, Keith’s heart felt crushed against the inside of his ribcage, swelling up with warm affection.

He started to walk past Hunk, making sure the hand he trailed over his arm couldn’t be misinterpreted in the least. “I think I’d like that.”

Slowly, Hunk turned so red Keith could see it clearly. He even stuttered a little. Keith kept walking, and picked up the cookie jar Shiro kept for guests, heading for the lounge room, where Shiro and Lance were going over some pilot manoeuvres on paper.

Deliberately, he paused by the counter, and glanced back at the still-shocked Hunk. “Junior’s not the only Keith who wouldn’t mind having a Hunk, you know?”

Hunk looked like a deer caught in headlights for all of a minute, and Keith wondered, for one heart-stopping moment, if his recklessness had been miscalculated. Then, Hunk dropped his gaze, bringing his hand up to rub his neck, and he looked almost… _pleased_. Keith’s heart soared.

Unable to stand still, or soak up such happiness while keeping his composure, Keith strode into the living room, jar in hand. His work was done- for now.

Shiro glanced up at him, thanking him blandly, then did a double-take. “What’s got you so happy?”

Keith’s cheeks almost hurt from smiling, and his gazed wandered past him, towards the cage against the wall. “Oh, you know. Hunk.”


End file.
